Feeding mechanism



Dec. 31, 1929.

w.-w-. wwmsou FEEDING IIOBAIISI rum M1123, 1:21 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec.31, I929. wjw. DAVIDSON FEEDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Dec 33;, 1929.. w. w. DAvmsoN FEEDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledJuly 23, 1927 Dec. 31, 1929. w. w. DAVIDSON 1,

FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 23, 192'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jan /2752 z/d222 wamwa zs I I Patented Dec. 31, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF1cEWILLIAM WARD DAVIDSON, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO DAVIDSON MANU-I EAC'JTURING COMPANY, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSINFEEDING mncnamsm' Application filed July 23,

adaptable for feeding-blanks of different finish and stiffness.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A blank feeding machine embodying my invention and improvementscomprises the various features, combinations of features and details ofconstruction hereinafter described and claimed.

ments, shown in conjunction with the co- In the accompanying drawings inwhich my invention is fully illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a feeding mechanism embodying my inventionand improveoperating parts of an automatic addressing machine;

Fig. 2 a vertical section taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fi 2 an enlarged detail section taken substantially on line 2-- a ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 a section taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4.- is an enlarged detail sectional view,

substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 1, showing means for actuating theseparator roll shaft, avratchet gear forming part thereof being omitted;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view, substantiallyon the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, showing the means for actuating'the separatorroll shaft and including said ratchet gear;

Fig. 6 a sectional elevation taken substantially on line 66 of Fig. 1;and

table 10 having stencil guides 11' extending 1927. Serial N'o. 207,934.

transversely thereof. A vertically reciprocating platen or pressureplate 12 is mounted centrally on the table 10 below the stencil guides11 and provided with a cam roller 13 riding upon the periphery of a camarm 14 fixed to a rocker shaft 15 mounted under the table 10, as bestshown in Fig. 2. The rocker shaft 15 is operated by means of a rockerarm 16 thereonconnected by a link 17 with the drive shaft of theaddressing machine which thus operates to periodically rock the shaft 15and consequently elevate and depress the platen or pressure plate 12.

Stencils 18 are automatically fed through the guides'll by the normaloperation of the addressing machine.

Co-operating with the stencils 18 and the platen 12 is a combinedpressure and inking roll 19 mounted on one arm 20 of a bell crank lever,the other arm 21 of which is connected by a bolt 22 with one end of alink 23, in turn connected with the rocker arm 16, as shown. The roll 19co-operates with an inking roll 24 of the addressing machine.

The mechanism heretofore described are parts of an automatic addressingor stencilmg machine, operating in the usual Way to automaticallyimprint addresses from the stencils 18 on envelopes or other blanksplaced under said stencil guides. Said mechanism forms nopart of thepresent invention, except in so far as the same co-operates with themechanism to be presently described.

The rocker shaft 15 carries a pair of rocker arms.25 pivotally connectedwith the ends of bent links 26 having notches 27 interchangeablyengaging bolts 28 on depending lugs 29 on a reciprocating carriage 30.

The reciprocating carriage 30 is mounted to reciprocate on rollers 31running in slots 32 in suitable guide bars 33 having securing flanges33' secured to the table 10, said carriage 30 bein thereby mounted toreciprocate toward and from the stenciled guides, above described. Thenotches 27 permit of adjustments of the carriage 30 to vary the pointsat which the carriage stops on its approach to the stencil guides.

A pack box or receptacle 34 is mounted on the carriage 30' at a forwardand downward inclination as indicated, the bottom of said receptaclebeing extended at 35 at the lower end of the receptacle to cbnstitute aguide for the blanks 36 as they are fed from the receptacle. Forconvenience said plate may be A v upper edges of the blanks 36 to holdthem in such tilted positions, Weights 36 being'slidably mounted on theedges of the inclined sides of the receptacle 34 to normally advance thepack of blanks 3'3 downwardly in the receptacle.

The gauge bar 37 is carried by a vertical bar 38 slidable against asupporting bar 39 and adapted to be adjust'ably clamped thereto by theclamp 40, said supporting bar 39 being mounted on a transverse bar 41 ofthe carriage 30.

By this arrangement it will be noted that the gauge bar 37 may beindependently adjusted to vary the tiltof the pack of envelopes 36 or tosuit different sizes of envelopes.

It will also be noted that the gauge bar 37 is arranged at a slightinclination to the top edges of the pack of envelopes 36, whichinclination facilitates feeding of the envelopes downwardly in thereceptacle and insures uniform positioning of the endmost .envelope inthe pack.

A separator roll 42 in the form of two roller sections is'mounted .on atransverse shaft 43 projecting through slots 44 in the sides of thecarriage 30. As best shown in Fig. 1, the shaft 43 at one end hashearings in rocker arms 45 and at the other end in a single rocker arm45, said mounting permitting of independent adjustment of the separatorroller 42 toward and from the separator plate 35. The rocker arms 45 and45 are fixed to a transverse rocker shaft 46 carrying an operating arm47 connected with an adjusting screw 48, as best shown in Fig. 6,whereby the positions of the separator roller 42 may be adjusted asdesired.

Intermittent rotation in a direction to project blanks 36 from the packbox 34, indicated by the arrows in Figs. 3 and 4, is adapted to beimparted to the separator roll shaft 43 by means as follows (seeparticularly Figs. 1, 4 and 5) Mounted on the separator roll shaft 43,so as to turn freely thereon, are a ratchet wheel 49 and a gear orpinion 50, said ratchet wheel and gear being connected so as to turntogether. Also, secured to said separator roll shaft 43, so as to rotatetherewith, is a disk 52, pivoted to which are pawls 51 which are adaptedto engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 49 and are maintainedyieldingly in engagement therewith by springs 51', in a usual ,manner.Pivotally connected at 55 to a post 56 on the table '10 is a rack bar54, the teeth of which are maintained in engagement with the teeth ofthe gear or pinion 50 by a yoke-shaped bracket 53 mounted to turn viousthat, as the carriage 30 reci rocates in operation, the rack bar 54,th'roug its engagement with the gear or pinion 50, will impart rotationto sand-gear or pinion-in opp osite direct-ion, and that, with therelation shown (see particularly Fig. 5), rotation of said gearcorresponding to movement of they carriage 30 away from the stencilguidesll will cause the teeth of the ratchet wheel 49 to en age thepawls 51 pivoted tothe disk 52, there y imparting rotation to said disk52, the separator roll shaft 43 to which said disk is secured, and tothe separator roll 42 secured to said shaft, with said gear or pinion50, in a direction to advance a blank in the pack box, resting incontact with the separator roll 42 so that it will project at theforward end of the pack bqx beyond the end of the separator plate 35, asshown in Fig. 2.

On the forward movement of the carriage, that is, its movement towardthe stencil guides 11, the spring pawls .51 will run freely Over theteeth of the ratchet wheel 49, thus per mitting idle movement of thegear.v or pinion 50 under the influence of the rack bar 54.

Co-operating with the separator roll 42 are lower and upper pull-outrolls 57 and 59v secured to shafts 58 and 60, respectively, the relationbein such that, when the carriage 30 is at the imit 'of its forwardmovement, that is, of its movement towardthe-stencil guides 11, thefront .end of the blank 36 which has been advanced by the separator roll42 on the preceding rearward stroke of the carriage 30, as explained,will be between the pull-out rolls 57 and 59 and in position forengagement by said pull-out rolls.

The shaft 60 is mounted 'at each end in bearing blocks 61 verticallyslidable in slots 62 on the sides of the carriage 30 and normally helddepressed with the upper pull-out roll 59 in contact with the lowerpull-out roll 57, by means of compression springs 63, as best shown inFig. 6. The lower shaft 58 is extended at one end and is provided with agrooved pulley 64, as best shown in Fi 1, adjusted to which is aconstantly driven elt, not shown, whereby said shaft 58 and thelower-pull-out roll 57 are constantly driven in the direction of' thearrow on Fig. 3, as

will be readily understood. 1 By this arrangement the pull-out rollsections 59 are normally held in operative con tact with the lowerpull-out roll 57, as will be readily understood.

Longitudinal cam bars 65 are mounted at their rearward ends onsupporting brackets 66 on the guide bars 33, said cam ars being set toconstitute tracks for rollers 67 on the shaft 60, said tracks being setat such an elevation that when the rollers 67 are resting thereon theroller sections 59' are raised out of contact with the roller 57 butwhen the rollers 67 run off from the forward ends of the tracks 65, theroller sections 59 are depressed by the springs 63 into operativecontact with the co-operating lower pull-out roller .57 to engage ablank delivered between said pull-out rollers b the separator roll 42,forcibly advancing the same into the addressing mechanism. The length ofthe cam,

bars 65 is such that the roller sections 59 are tion said blank's forprinting by the addressheld elevated durin the time when the front blankis being fed%)y the separator roll 42 as above described, during therearward movement of the carriage 30 but toward the end of the forwardmovement of said car- A are so ositioned with reference to the gauge716i t e addressing machine that the blanks 36 are advanced thereby intocontact with the gauge 71, which is set to properly posiing machine, aswill be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

The operation of the parts is so timed that a blank will be thus fedinto position between the pressure roller 19 and the platen 12 of theaddressing machine as to receive the proper impression from the properstencil 18, as will be readil understood.-

The gauge 71 is carried by an arm 72 having a longitudinal slot 73,slidably fitted to fixed guide member 74 being connected by a rod 75with a reciprocating bracket 76 mounted at the edge of the table 10, asshown.

The bracket 76 carries a roller77 contacting with a star wheel 78 on ashaft'7 9. The shaft 79 carries a ratchet-80 co-operating with a ratchetarm 81 carrying a spring pawl 82.

' I? The ratchet arm 81 is connected by a rod 82' with stud 83 pivotedon the rocker arm 16, the rod 82 sliding freely through said stud andbeing provided with stop shoulders 84 as indicated.

A tension spring 85 is connected, as shown, with the bracket 76 fornormally holding said bracket and said'gauge 71 in retracted positions,the construction being such that iminediatel after each blank isaddressed, as above descri ed, the gauge 71 is quickl thrown forward tokickor project an ad ressed blank out from under the stencil guides11along the top of the table 10 and beneath the lower pullout roller 57,which is positioned above and in such close proximity to the table topthat it will engage blanks thus delivered beneath it, and eject themfrom the machine into a suitable rack 86 provided for the purpose. Itwill thus be seen that each blank from the pack in the receptacle 34will be individually fed into the addressing or stenciling machine andautomatically ejected therefrom.

In the preferable construction shown, an idle roll 87for convenientreference designated the ejector*rollis mounted to co-operate with thedriven pull-out roll 57 bein positioned at the opposite side of said pul-out roll from the pull-out roll 59. Said ejector roll is secured to ashaft 88 mounted so that said roll will be freely movabletowards andfrom the pull-out roll 57 and is maintained normally, yieldingly incontact therewith by springs applied thereto, all substantially in t esame manner as the pull-out roll 59. Also, like said pull-out roll 59,the ejector roll preferably comprises a plurality of sections which areseparately adjustablelen thwise of the shaft 88, that is transversely ofthe machine.

The device may be readily adjusted to various kinds and sizes of blanksby adjusting the gauge bar 37 relatively to, the separator plate, thetilt at which the blanks 36 are held being varied for blanks of variousmaterials and degrees, of stiffness and finish, their inclination beingvaried towards the horizontal for separating thicker and stiffer blanksand retracted, and the pull-out roller 57, when fully advanced, and inso proportioning said pull-out roller 57 ,that the distance between insuch relation that rotation of said pullout roll will flick the end ofthe blank around. said roll so that the blank will rest flat upon thetable top 10.

the gauge bar 71 when in normal position, an?

Also, to insure engagement of the rear end of said blank with thepull-out roll so that it will be flicked around said pull-out roll, saidroll preferaby is provided with lengthwise corrugations 89 with whichthe ends of the blanks will engage as said roll rotates, and be carrieddownward onto the table 10, as stated.

The mechanism-disclosed will operate with great efliciency and accuracyin feeding and ejecting blanks.

The specific form and arrangement of parts disclosed is a simple andefi'ective one for the purpose.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation and "modification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations andmodifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for separating and feeding blanks, the combination-of ablank recep tacle, blank separatin means comprising a separator platewhich orms the bottom of the blank receptacle, a separator roll mountedin said blank receptacle, means for supporting blanks in edgewisepositions on the separator plate with the front blank in contact withthe separator roll, means for advancing the blanks towards saidseparator roll, means for imparting rotation to said separator roll,pullout rolls mounted to move toward and away from each other and inassociation with the blank separating means, and means for impartingsaid movements to said pull-out rolls. 2. In a machine for separatingand feeding blanks, the combination of a blank receptacle, blankseparating means comprising a separator plate which forms the bottom ofthe blank receptacle, a separator roll mounted in said blank receptacle,means for supporting blanks in edgewise positions on the separator platewith the front blank in contact with the separator roll, means foradvancing the blanks towards said separator roll, means for impartingrotation to said separator roll, pullout rolls to receive said projectedblanks,

' means for continuously driving one of said pull-out rolls, an idleroll movable towards and away from said continuously driven roll andadapted to be actuated intermittently by contact therewith, and meansfor imparting movement to said idle roll towards and away from saiddriven'roll.

3. In combination a machine for separating blanks, a stop which definesthe position of the blanks in the machine, said stop being movablysupported, blank separating means,

pull-out rolls mounted in position to receive blanks therefrom and toadvance them into contact with the stop which defines the posip )L tionofthe blanks in the machine, the relative positions of said stop andpull-out roll being such that, when the advancin end of-a blank is incontact with said stop its opposite end will rest incontact with thesurface of said pull-out roll proximate said stop, rotation of saidpull-out roll operating to flick the con tactin end of said blank to theopposite side of said pull-out roll, an idle. ejector roll mountedadjacentsaid pull-out roll and in such close proximity thereto thatsaidpullout roll and ejector roll will engage and eject blanks deliveredbetween them, means for delivering blanks fed to the machine betweensaid pull-out roll and ejector roll, and means for imparting movement tosaid stop in a dlII'fCtlOII to impel a blank between the ejector ro s.

4. In combination, in a machine for separating blanks, a stop whichdefines the position of the blanks in the machine, said stop beingmovably supported, blank separating means, pull-out rolls mounted inposition to receive blanks therefrom and to advance them into contactwith the stop which defines the position of the blanks in the machine,the relative positions of said stop and pull-out roll being such thatwhen the advancing end of a blank is in contact withsaid stop itsopposite end will rest in contact with the surface of said pull-out'roll' proximate said stop, rotation of said pull-out roll operating toflick the contacting end of said blank to the opposite side of saidpull-out roll, an idle ejectorroll mounted adjacent said pull-out rolland in such close proximity thereto that said pull-out roll and ejectorroll will engage and eject blanks delivered between them, means fordelivering blanks fed to the machine between said pull-out roll andejector roll; a spring holding said stop in normal position, a starwheel mounted to impart discharge-motion.

5. In combination, in a machine for operat-.

ing on blanks, a movable stop which defines the postion of the blanks inthe machine, pullout rolls mounted. in position to advance blanks intocontact with said stop and in position to be fed by the opposite side ofone of said pull-out rolls, and means for operating said stop to forcesaid blank back into withdrawing engagement with said pull-out roll.

6. The combination as specified in claim 5 in which the stop is held innormal position by a spring, a star-wheel is mounted to impartdischarging motion to said stop, and means are provided for actuatingsaid star-wheel.

7-. Blank feeding and ejecting means comprising a driven roll, idlerolls at substantially opposite sides thereof adapted to hold drivenroll and the idle roll at the correspondblanks to be ejected betweensaid driven roll ing side thereof, and means for delivering and idleroll.

8. Blank feeding and ejecting means as specified in claim 1, in whichthe stop which defines the position of the blanks is movable, and whichcomprises means for imparting movement thereto in a direction to delivera fed blank between the driven roll and idle roll.

9; Blank feeding and ejecting means as specified in claim 1, in whichthe sto which defines the positions of the blanks 1s movable, and whichcomprises a spring which holds said stop in normal position, a starwheelmounted to impart a discharge move ment to said stop, and means foractuating said star-wheel. L I Y 10. In a machine for separating andfeeding'blanks, the combination of a blank receptacle, blank separatingmeans comprising aseparator plate which forms the bottom of the blankreceptacle, a separator roll mounted in said blank receptacle, means forsupporting blanks in edgewise position on the separator plate with thefront blank in contact with the separator roll, means for advancing theblanks towards said separator roll, means for imparting rotation to saidseparator .roll, and a gauge. plate which extends from a point above theseparator roll lengthwise over the blank receptacle in po-' sition toengage the upper edges of the blanks contained in said receptacle,operating to hold their lower edges in vcontact with the separator plateand to support them at de' sired inclination to the separator plate.

11. Ina machine for separating and feedgauge plate diverging rearwardlyat a slight angle to the separator plate.

12. In a machine for separating and feeding blanks, the combination of ablank re- (:eptacle, blank separating means comprising ase arator platewhich forms the bottom of t e blank receptacle, a separator roll,

mounted'in said blank receptacle, means for supporting blanks inedgewise position on the separator plate with the front blank in contactwith the separator roll, means for advancing the blanks towards saidseparator roll, means for imparting rotation to said separator roll, anda gauge plate which extends from a point above the separator rolllengthwise over the blank receptacle in position to engage the upperedges of the blanks contained in said receptacle operating to hold theirlower edges in contact with the separator plate and to support them at adesired inclination to the separator plate, said gauge U plate beingvertically adjustable.

13.- In a machine for separating blanks, the combination of areciprocating member, a pack receptacle mounted thereon constructed andarranged to carry a pack of blanks to be fed, and means carried by saidrecipro:

eating member for automatically vdischarging a blank at eachreciprocation.

14. Feeding mechanism as specified in claim 13, in which means areprovided whereby the discharging means is operated by the reciprocationsof said reciprocating member.

15. Feeding mechanism as specified in claim 13, in which a stationaryrack bar is operatively connected with said discharging means foroperatingthe same.

In witness that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I afiir; msignature this 18th day, of July, A. D .,.192;.

. WM. WARD DAVIDSON.

ing blanks, the combination of a blank receptacle, blank separatingmeans compris-- mg a separator plate which forms the bottom of the blankreceptacle, a separator roll mounted in said blank receptacle, means forsupporting blanks in edgewise posit-ion on the separator plate with thefront blank in contact with the separator roll, means for advancing theblanks towards said separator .roll, means' for imparting rotation tosaid separator roll, and a gauge plate which extends from a point abovethe separator roll lengthwise over the blank receptacle inposition toengage the upper edgesof the blanks

